MN Cattlemen Urge Congress to Delist the Gray Wolf

Published November 16, 2018

On Friday, the U.S. House passed the Gray Wolf State Management Act of 2017. This action comes after 19 agriculture and sportsmen organizations sent a letter to House leadership. The bill delists the gray wolf from protection under the Endangered Species Act in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Wyoming. Five years ago, Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Executive Director Ashley Kohls says there was no doubt the wolf population needed attention. “There was a plan put in place with the Minnesota DNR to rebuild the population. The numbers actually exceeded what the goal was under the ESA management plan.” According to Kohls, the sense of urgency comes from growing population numbers in the state. “Cattlemen, particularly in northwest Minnesota, are losing cattle to wolf depredation and seeing changes in herd temperament.” The act reverses a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision blocked in Federal court.